


Tangled The Series Cast: Where are they now?

by Swiftwars21



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Behind the Scenes, Everyone is their character, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Light Angst, Not a very good title, Rating May Change, Though it depends on the plot of chapter, Varian is hormonal AF
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:02:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27413182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swiftwars21/pseuds/Swiftwars21
Summary: Rapunzel's adventures outside of the show, with the rest of the cast living their celebrity lives, and Varian trying to survive teen girls......
Comments: 34
Kudos: 45





	1. Soaked Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> I just really wanted something else on here besides the series I'm currently working on
> 
> I don't know how often I'll post on this, but I've already got some stories written down on my phone, so there will be at least a few:) 
> 
> Anyways, try to enjoy my weak attempt at humor...

Rapunzel pointed her phone's camera forward, taking a few photos before pressing the record button. She turned it to Eugene, Lance, and Varian, who had all fallen asleep on set.

Lance was slouched on the queen's throne, with a snoring Varian draped sleepily over his lap. Eugene slept on the king's throne, positioned similarly to Varian; his arms folded, head resting on the left arm, and legs perched over the right arm. Rapunzel giggled, already planning to paint this later.

Suddenly, Cassandra came into the frame, carrying a large bucket full to the brim with ice water. Rapunzel gasped, stifling a laugh with her hand. "Cass, no-" she tried. But the short-haired woman threw the bucket of freezing liquid over the group of boys with enough force to splash all of them.

They all screamed awake, Varian rolling off Lance's lap to the floor, Eugene landing next to him. They all wore matching annoyed faces, giving Cass angry glares. The actress couldn't help but snort into laughter, and Rapunzel couldn't help but do the same. Lance, who was visibly shaking, sat up straight. Eugene and the teenager both got to their knees.

"Cass, seriously?!" Varian yelled at her, hugging himself for warmth. 

Eugene got to his feet, helping Varian do the same. Cass laughed harder at their angry looks, doubling over.

In seconds, Lance was on his feet, heading for his dressing room. Rapunzel's camera followed him until he was out the door, turning back to Cass, Eugene, and Varian. 

The camera caught the two males share a scheming look, Varian nodding at the older. Rapunzel held back a laugh, knowing _exactly_ what they were going to do. She made sure to keep the phone straight, waiting for it. 

When it happened, it happened quick. They both launched themselves at Cass, who yelped in surprise as they wrapped their arms tightly around her. "No! Stop, you're getting me wet!" she cried, struggling in their grips. "That's the point!" Eugene laughed. 

As much as she tried, Cassandra's struggling was absolutely pointless, since she was already soaked. After a few moments, the boys finally released her, high fiving each other in triumph. Cassandra was dripping with water, hugging herself as Varian had.

"That's what you get!" Varian cheered.

"karma's a bi-" Eugene cut himself off, getting a puzzled look from the teen. Rapunzel's eyes widened.

Eugene laughed nervously. "Ha, ha, um.....a bad.....guy..." he failed. Rapunzel face palmed.

Before Varian could ask, he noticed Cassandra giving the two a cold as ice look. He shouldered Eugene, who froze upon following Varian's gaze. "Uh, oh..." Varian muttered. Eugene clapped a hand on his back. "Every man for himself, kid!" he said, before running out the entrance. 

"Hey, that's not fair!" Varian yelled after him, before turning slowly back to Cass. He chuckled nervously under her hard gaze, and started stumbling backwards. Cassandra started walking slowly towards him, cracking her knuckles. Varian waved a shaky hand, before bolting backwards after Eugene.

Cass followed after, leaving Rapunzel laughing alone in the set. 

The blonde turned off the camera, not realizing the three had rounded the building to the door right behind her.


	2. Paparazi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They didn't know the premier would end like this...

"Where's Varian?!" Rapunzel cried, her voice barely audible over the amount of screaming. 

Eugene tried to reach the blonde, only to be pulled back. "I don't know!" he shouted back. He was suddenly touched on the thigh, making him yelp. 

The whole cast of Tangled The Series struggled through the loud, large crowds of New York City, outside the premier theater. They'd all been together until they reached the front doors, and everything erupted into chaos. Varian went missing in mere seconds, and in moments, Rapunzel was more than fifty feet away from where they once were. 

Rapunzel made it half-way through the attacking arms, nearing their awaiting limo, before she was pulled backward. "Ah!" she screamed. Eugene, not far behind her, made the same reaction as his legs were grabbed, and he staggered forward. He barely made his feet stable, before Cassandra "accidentally" slammed into the poor man.

"Can we just get privacy for one minute?!" She screamed, her hair being tugged. A little girl managed to grab onto her dress, making her trip, and fall back into Eugene, who just got up from the ground. 

"I don't think they can hear you-eek!" Lance squeaked as he felt a pinch on his ear.

Rapunzel dodged more hands, searching over the large ocean of people. "Seriously guys, where's Varian?!" At that moment, she spotted a single stripe of blue a few feet away surrounded by a mountain of teenage girls. Rapunzel managed to navigate over to them, daring to reach inside. None of the girls noticed as she grabbed an overly-thin arm, pulling a very frazzled looking Varian away from them. 

The poor boy's face was covered in red lipstick, but it wasn't enough to cover the pale and frightened look on his face. 

Rapunzel almost laughed at his state, but he suddenly wrapped his arms around her, trying to avoid being pulled back again. His arms hugged the woman so tight, she almost had to gasp for air. "Save me, Rapunzel....SAVE ME!" he cried. 

At this, Rapunzel started stomping her way through the fans, hanging tight to the boy strapped to her torso. His legs dragged against the ground, people kept trying to grab him and pull him back, but Rapunzel held tight to him. The blonde managed to push her way to the car, the driver hiding from the ocean of people in the front seat. She pushed Varian into the limo, jumping in next to him. 

Eugene was the next person to reach the car. "I know, I know! I have an irresistibly good looking complexion! But you guys!" he was cut off when Cass got to the car, pushing him inside the vehicle. "Move it, Fitzherbert!" she growled, jumping inside.

When Lance finally made it, he dived inside like a scuba-diver, slamming the door closed. He quickly locked it right as people tried to open it, sagging against his seat in exhaustion. 

The car started, driving away as people started to surround it. Everyone inside was gasping for air.

Lance and Cassandra sat next to each other, backs facing the front. Cassandra's hair was a tangled mess, her makeup completely smeared, and dress ruffled. Lance was wide-eyed, clothes torn to near shreds, and marks on his head that came from nowhere. 

"Remind me not to wear a dress, EVER again!" Cass grumbled.

On the other side of the vehicle, Eugene sat directly in front of her (the right end), a kiss mark here and there, once oiled down hair a disaster, and clothes almost identical to the state of Lance's. 

Rapunzel sat next to him, her blonde hair that once sat in a ponytail, now tangled like Cassandra's. Her dress was a bit torn up, a bunch of wrinkles all over it, and she was missing both of her heels (though she was already used to not wearing shoes at all, so she didn't really care). 

Next to her was Varian, frightened out of his mind. He was still gripping Rapunzel's waist, not wanting to let go. You could barely see his usually clean face behind the lip stick marks sprinkled all over it. Rapunzel gently ran a hand through his messy hair comfortingly, both of their eyes practically popping out of their sockets. 

Eugene was using the mirror next to him as a mirror, trying to fix his hair. "Well, you do have to wear a dress everyday for filming, so....tough luck there." the man chuckled. Cassandra moaned, falling back into her seat.

"A-A-At least you d-d-don't have to deal w-w-with..." Varian trailed off, his voice too shaky to speak. Rapunzel grinned slightly, both out of funniness and pity. 

"I don't mind it." Eugene commented, putting emphasis on the 'I'. He took out his travel-sized hair gel, and started to rub it carefully through his brunette locks. "But I do think they might need to tone down the fan-girl level down a bit."

"YOU THINK!" Varian randomly yelled, making Eugene jump and spill the gel all over his lap. Varian sat up, trying to fix his own hair."I get to deal with the adolescences." he muttered under his breath. When his hair wouldn't straighten out, he gave up. Rapunzel gave him a reassuring pat on the back.

Cassandra snorted at the spilled gel, making Eugene give her a bitter glare. She rolled her eyes. "You needed a shine up, anyway." she remarked, making everyone in the car chuckle. 

"Well, what would you know, CassAndra!" he mocked. "You don't have to make sure your hair is as slicked back as-" Cass cut him off. "You don't have to brush through long lengths of hair, like me and Raps!" she yelled, making everyone jump. Lance hit his head on the roof, crying out in pain.

Rapunzel nodded in agreement to Cassandra's sentence, staying silent as they started one of their usual bickers.

Varian leaned against Rapunzel like a pillow, and she wrapped an arm around him. He sighed. 

Rapunzel noticed his discontent, and frowned. "You okay?" she whispered, as to not interrupt the two arguers. Varian didn't say anything at first, just staring into space. As Lance massaged his sore head, he also noticed Varian's clammy mood. He and Rapunzel shared a concerned look, before Rapunzel patted the boy's lap.

"Hey, don't worry. You aren't the only one freaked out by the paparazi." she smiled. But Varian shook his head, frowning.

"It's not just...that." he sighed, sitting up. Cassandra and Eugene ended their argument, now invested in the teenager's troubles with the other two adults. Varian really didn't want to talk, but at this point, everyone was waiting. 

"I just...how do you guys deal with them?" he asked. Everyone raised brows, and Rapunzel bit her lip. "Well, you just have to adapt, I guess." she shrugged, not knowing a good way to respond. This made Varian's frown deepen, and he pulled his knees to his chest.

"It's just that.....sometimes I wish I didn't audition for the show." he admitted, immediately looking away from the others' surprised expressions. Rapunzel placed a hand on his shoulder, gesturing for him to continue. 

"Why?" Cassandra added.

Varian bit his lip. "Well, before this...life was so much easier. School was easier to get to, I had my friends, and I had dad to come home to every night. But now, I have to go all around the country, everyone I know wants to be friends with me because of who I am, and I barely see my dad anymore. I don't even get enough privacy." he explained, tightening his grip on his knees. "I know that's what celebrities have to deal with, but it's still....too hard." 

Everyone was surprised by this. The kid _really_ knew how to hold back his feelings, which made playing his character simpler. But this.....this was not what they were expecting. 

Rapunzel moved her other hand to Varian's other shoulder, turning the teen to face her. She gave him an understanding smile. "I get it, to some level. When I auditioned, I was just barely out of high school, so it was easier for me." Varian looked down at this, but she gently pulled his face up to meet her gaze.

"But I understand everything else. People will want to be friends with you because you're famous, there's no getting out of that. But you also have real friends. Friends who don't care about how popular you are, and truly care about you. Those are the people you should be paying attention to."

Varian smiled slightly at that and nodded. 

"Plus, you always have technology!" Lance added into the conversation. "You may not be able to see your father physically, or any of that. But you can still talk to him, plus, it might be good to tell him how you feel about it. Maybe even tell the directors how you feel about it, and maybe they'll let you have a break for a while to be with him."

Varian's smile grew wider at the idea. "That...I like that." 

Rapunzel pulled him into a hug, and he melted into it. "Thanks guys."

Everyone else, even though they were all still complete disasters, invited themselves into the hug. It lasted a few moments, before Cassandra suddenly pulled away in disgust.

"Ugh, Fitzherbert! You got your disgusting head-glaze all over me!"

Everybody laughed, and the rest of the night was spent playing games in the hotel room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly didn't plan on making this so fluffy with Varian, but I'm glad I did:)
> 
> Also, if there are any grammar errors, sorry.   
> I didn't go through it and edit it, because it's almost eight PM where I am, and I spent most of the day writing the other chapter for my series, so I'm TiReD!!!
> 
> Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed this one!


	3. Bad Guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's tired, and just wants to get filming over with.
> 
> But a certain someone decides to pull a prank on the whole staff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun to write. I just wanted to put up something more lighthearted than my other story, which is about to get even more depressing than it already is, so.....
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Everyone could agree on one thing today. 

Everyone was tired. 

The producers, the director, the actors, even the makeup and hair crew wanted to pass out! Everyone had been filming for hours, with barely a few breaks, and few bathroom rests. It didn't help that the show had almost fallen into bankruptcy, and lost a lot of their money; so now they could only afford ONE set. 

This meant that they had to film every scene one by one, and it took days to film them all, let alone one. Cassandra and Eugene's bickering wasn't of any help either. In fact, it made it worse, considering they shared quite a few scenes in this episode. They almost _always_ fell into an argument, even over the smallest things. 

Now, at almost six o'clock p.m, they were filming one of the last scenes. Sure, it wasn't THE last one, but it was the last one for the night, and everyone was getting anxious for it to end. Perhaps the most tired out of everyone, however, was the young teenager standing on set in front of Rapunzel. His snarky, adolescent mood was just the proof. 

Varian now clutched the sundrop flower prop tightly in his gloves hand, making a face that resembled that of an angry cat. The door behind the duo started to jiggle; Eugene, Cassandra, and a group of "guards" standing behind it. The director held in a breath, ready for the filming to end. So close...just a minute longer, and they'd all finally be able to go home. Just one more agonizingly slow minute...

"Sorry, Princess." Varian sneered. "But I know first hand-" he was cut off by the sound of the intercom above turning on. Everyone looked up, confused as the song 'Bad' by Michael Jackson started playing. Loud groans filled the room, followed by the chorus of the song. The director pulled on his hair in frustration. "Ugh, CUT!" he yelled.

When the cameras stopped filming, Rapunzel started chuckling, while Varian face palmed. As 'funny' as the song intrusion may seem, to Varian it was ridiculous. Sure, the timing was pretty good, but whoever the culprit was chose the wrong day to pull this prank. 

"Who gave Eugene the intercom code again?" the director yelled. 

Eugene poked his head out from behind his spot behind the doors, shaking his head. "It wasn't me this time!" he claimed. Cassandra's hand poked out in a thumbs up. "Unfortunately, he's right; he's been back here as long as I have." the woman yelled.

Rapunzel cranked her head, eyes narrowing. "Wait, then who-" she started. The music suddenly stopped, replaced with a familiar voice. "This is what you guys get for not writing me into the episode!" Lance's voice laughed, echoing throughout the large space. The director moaned, slapping his face with the script in his hands. Varian clutched his fists tighter, the flower starting the crumble from the grip. Rapunzel bit back a chuckle, letting her tiredness replace her usual happy-go-lucky aura.

Cassandra's face palm could be heard from miles away, and Eugene's snort was louder than an elephant on a trampoline. "Don't look at me, Lance! I didn't write the script!" he shouted upward. Lance's chuckles could be heard, before a song once again started to play.

This time, the song was 'Bad Guy' by Billie Eilish. "Lance!" Varian shouted angrily, his patience rocking on its brink. Cassandra jumped out from her spot, and stomped frustratedly out the set doors. Eugene, who's been standing up all day, sat down in the actress's chair. He jumped off it in surprise, an embarrassing squeak escaping him. 

"Holy Corona, even her chair has her cold demeanor!" 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes, stepping off set. "Okay, guys-" 

The blonde groaned as the music once again stopped. 

"I won't stop until you write me in!" Lance said through the speakers, before 'Gives you Hell' by The All-American Rejects started playing. Varian's face grew redder than a crab, and he couldn't stop himself from throwing up a not-so-nice sign with his hand. Everyone in the room gasped, and Eugene snorted again.

"Varian! What did I tell you about those kinds of gestures!" the director yelled, jumping from his director's chair. Varian put the hand down, and stuck out his tongue at the man. Eugene was now rolling on the ground, and Rapunzel was hitting her head against the wall. 

"I won't stop!" Lance said over the music. "Just give-AHH!" Lance screamed, grabbing everyone's attention. 

The sound of a door slamming open echoed from the intercom, and Cass's angry shouts sounded. Words no person should know were shared, causing everyone, even Varian, to widen their eyes and gasp. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Lance cried. The music finally stopped, and the intercom beeped off, leaving the set in complete silence.

It stayed like that until Varian threw down the flower, which was now half dust, as well as his satchel. He even threw down his goggles from his head, and started grumbling inaudible words under his breath. 

Everyone stared silently as the fourteen-year old stomped across the room, face red, and steam practically pouring from his ears. 

They didn't say anything as he ran out the door, slamming it with a bang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #IamfailingallofmyclassesbecauseofmywritinganddepressionsoyeahIdon'tknowanymore


	4. Castgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Varian can't go home for Thanksgiving, his friends try to cheer him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This definitely isn't my favorite chapter....
> 
> It was definitely rush-written, and I did have A LOT more ideas for how it could've gone. It was supposed to be a bit longer, and more detailed, but I just wanted to get a chapter out. I might actually do a rewrite at some point in the near future, so look for that...
> 
> But yeah, this is pretty short. I've been REALLY busy the last few days, and it's been difficult to find much time to write. I hope this isn't TOO bad, and I do promise to make a better version later (maybe even the next chapter). 
> 
> But anyways, TRY to enjoy :/

_**Knock Knock Knock** _

Varian groaned, as the knocks on his dressing room continued. 

He knew he shouldn't be as mad as he was, especially since he knew they were only trying to help. But he was just too upset to care right now. All he wanted to do was stay in his room, lay on his bed, and binge watch Hallmark movies while stress-eating Doritos and Popcorn. Sure, it wasn't the most _impressive_ Thanksgiving meals; but for him, it was fine. At least he had enough money to eat.

Ever since the near-bankrupt mess, the producers of Tangled The Series had to cut back on many things. Reducing to one set, everyone sleeping in their dressing rooms and campers, and firing some of the camera crew were just a few of the mishaps. The worst, in Varian's opinion, was the reduction in paychecks. The whole crew's usual checks had to be cut down by almost _fifty percent,_ and that included the actors and actresses, as well as himself.

And it didn't help that he didn't get the highest of salaries either----one, because he was much younger than most of the cast, and two, for not being in as many episodes as originally planned. This meant he didn't have enough money in his allowance to travel back home for Thanksgiving and back. Which meant, no celebrating being 'grateful for things' with his dad. Which left him with no family to spend the holidays with. 

The others knew this, and to his 'luck', tried to comfort him the best they could. He appreciated their efforts, he really did, but what did they know? They had enough money to go wherever they wanted to, and back. Rapunzel and Eugene were lucky enough to have their family (AKA: Rapunzel's) live in LA, so they wouldn't get it. Cassandra's father also lived in LA, since he played a character that was in almost every episode of the first season. And then Lance's two girls lived with him in an apartment in Anaheim. They all had family here, while Varian's only family lived all the way across the country in New York. He had no one.

Varian flinched when the knocking happened again, and this time Rapunzel started to talk through the door.

"Varian? Please, we know you're in there." 

"Yeah, Kid, please let us in." Eugene added, his voice full of genuine worry. Varian tried to push that away, though he found it hard. The teenager fell on his side on his mattress, covering his ears with a pillow. But no matter how hard he tried, he could still hear the annoying bangs of the door, and the calls from his friends. Couldn't they just let him be?

His eyes slammed close, and he forced back tears. He wished his dad was here. He wished he was next to him, hugging him close in one of his warm bear hugs. He wished he could enjoy a large meal----with turkey, and green beans, and cranberry sauce----with his father. He wanted him with him, even if only for a moment. 

After about ten more minutes, the banging and calling finally ceased. He slowly uncovered his ears hesitantly, and opened his eyes. After a half-minute of silence, he allowed himself to sit up, and let only a single tear escape his eyes. One, stressed and pain-filled tear.

Maybe he should've let them-

He didn't get to finish that thought, as the sudden sound of a click intercepted it. His eyes flicked to his door, as it swung open. Eugene jumped inside, followed by Rapunzel, Cass, and Lance. They all carried tinfoil covered food, save for the large, deliciously brown turkey in Lance's arms. His eyes widened in surprise, and the others clearly noticed. 

Eugene twirled a small bobby-pin in his fingers, wearing a small, but still smug look. 

"Learned quite a lot for my role." he curtly explained, handing the pin to Rapunzel. She shoved it in the pocket of her blouse, not looking away from the hurting teen in front of her. Varian felt a wave of guilt flood through him at her look, full of much more than plain pity. It was full of pure, genuine care. Full of TRUE sympathy and sadness. It was also shown on everyone else's faces. 

"Look, Varian." Rapunzel started, setting the bowl in her hands onto his vanity. Cass followed suite, as well as the two men. Varian sighed as they came closer, only slightly as to not overwhelm or anger him. "I know you may just want to sit in here and eat away your sorrows. Believe me, I get that." she continued, walking closer. When Varian didn't refuse, she took a seat next to him. Her hand rested on the small of his back, rubbing gentle circles into his back. "But trust me, it won't fix anything." 

Varian looked down, rubbing his knees with his palms. As much as he was thankful for her kind and caring nature, he just wanted her to leave. He just wanted to sleep away to stress, and maybe dream of having Thanksgiving dinner with his dad. That would be enough.

He felt someone else sit on his other side, putting a hand on his upper back. 

"And let's be honest; you don't want to let that freshly cooked meal over there go to waste, do you?" Eugene asked. Varian could practically hear the smirk growing on his face. And as much as Varian hated to admit it....he could feel his own planting itself on his lips. They all noticed this.

"AAAAAAAAAnd if you DO want that, then I'll just go ahead and eat it all myself." Lance teased. Varian looked up to see the man slowly reaching for the pile of food, and instinctively jumped up. "Not if I have anything to do with it!" he battle cried, running forward. 

Lance yelped, obviously not expecting the sudden outburst. He fell back at the surprisingly strong pressure push into his side, landing on the floor with a loud thump. Varian, who had landed on top of him, took the older male's shock to jump back to his feet. He grabbed both the pumpkin pie, and what he assumed to be the green-bean casserole, then took off out the door, and racing down the hallway. 

His laughs filled the whole building, the others' yells following as they chased after the squealing teenager. 

Varian couldn't help but feel a strong warmth fill his whole figure, almost completely forgetting what he'd been feeling only a few minutes ago.

Maybe Thanksgiving wouldn't be as lonely as he thought it would. 

Because his dad wasn't the only family he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, weird question, but am I the only one who's been listening to the new version of 'Hallelujah' by Matt Bloyd and Jeremy Jordan on replay? 
> 
> Like, I've LEGIT been listening to it over and over again. 
> 
> Their harmony is just SO GOOOOOOOOOD! And I've honestly been waiting for Jeremy to be doing a rendition of the song for a while, now. 
> 
> (QUICK SIDE NOTE: I've rushed this at twelve at night, so I didn't edit anything. Sorry for any mistakes I've made, and as I said before, the next chapter will probably be a better rewrite)


	5. Castgiving Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a fun night, Varian receives a special phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this came out WAYYYY later than I expected! I had MAJOR writer's block, and I just couldn't focus.
> 
> But I think it's worth it! 
> 
> So with that, enjoy this short but sweet second part to the last chapter!

Varian collapsed onto his bed, a bright smile plastered on his freckled face. 

A few hours ago, he would _never_ had thought that he'd enjoy tonight. But here he was at four in the morning, with a big stomach ache, and bits of whipped cream stuck in his raven-black hair. The group of actors had partied for hours, even after their large dinner. If it weren't for Eugene starting a pie-fight, Varian would probably be throwing up right now.

He chuckled at the memory of Cassandra covered in the casserole, but shivered when he remembered the anger in her expression. The cold, dark, anger that filled her face made him want to run all the way to Europe. He had no doubt that when the season two finale came, she'd really fit into her new villain role perfectly. 

Yawning, Varian sat up, only to fall back again when his phone suddenly started ringing in his pocket. He clutched the sheets, eyes widened in surprise as the glow of his device lit threw the material of his jacket. After recovering from the sudden ring, he reached his hand into his pocket, fumbling around until he finally grasped the phone, and pulled it out. When he lifted it to his face, being the clumsy kid he was, it slipped from his sweaty palms, hitting his nose hard. 

"Agh!" he gasped, clutching his reddened nose with a wince. His phone had slid off his face, landing on the mattress with the glowing screen facing the darker ceiling. 

Varian rubbed his nose more and sat up. He grabbed his phone again, using both hands to hold it under his face. His eyes widened when he saw who was trying to Face Time him.

Unhesitatingly, he pressed the accept button. 

It took a moment for the screen to change, at first showing a picture of the other user's profile. After a few seconds, the screen changed again, this time showing the live video of a man's tired looking face. Varian couldn't hide the wide grin growing on his visage. The other man on the screen smiled back.

"Hey Dad!" the fourteen-year old greeted with excitement. His father chuckled.

"Hey Son. How was your day? Was Thanksgiving alright?" the man asked. He gave his young prodigy a sad smile, full of regret and guilt that he couldn't be there with him. Varian matched the expression.

The young actor rubbed the back of his 'sore' neck. "Well, it-it was okay." he stuttered, trying to push away the sudden hole of guilt in his gut. "My friends---Rapunzel and them---were here. We hung out, you know; n-nothing special." he lied. The guilt in his stomach only grew greater. He felt bad about having fun without Quirin, who he usually spent every Thanksgiving with. They'd spend many hours cooking together, most times making a giant mess. And they even made ham sandwiches, which wasn't even a traditional Turkey-Day item. But this year....that wasn't what happened. 

Instead, Varian got to celebrate with his ~~friends~~ _family_ , while his dad was home, alone. Why should Varian get to be happy, while his old man was all by himself? It wasn't fair. No, he should be there right now. He should be enjoying sandwhiches with Quirin, and talking about how great life is or something. Nope. 

"Only two more months." his dad suddenly spoke, breaking Varian from his thoughts. "Two more months, and then I'll be up there with you." 

Varian couldn't help but smile at that. Yes, only two more months, and then he'd be up here to film 'Queen For A Day'. Two more months until they'd be able to touch each other again, and Varian could melt into his warm embraces again. Two. Two wasn't a very big number, but to him now, it was as big as infinity. Infinity days until he'd see his father. It was too long. 

The teen actor sighed. "Yeah, I know."

Quirin shared the same sigh, and it was left in silence for a minute.

After a minutes, Quirin spoke again. "So, I've seen the latest episodes. How is everyone?" he asked. Varian didn't miss him changing the subject, but didn't say anything about it. It was probably a good thing to not talk about the fact that they wouldn't even see each other on _Christmas._ It was probably best they stray from that for now, and try and share more light-hearted stuff. 

But even though Varian knew this, his mind refused to keep from thinking about it. His Dad was now talking about work, although he found it too difficult to really pay attention. He felt a familiar heat start to flow up to his throat, and his eyes were suddenly very dry. He bit his lip as his eyes started to slowly water, and he tried to push it all back. He tried to push the tears that came every night, and were always hidden. The tears nobody, not even his friends, knew existed. He couldn't hold them back, however, and felt his chest start to ache. His grip on the phone in his grip started to waver, and it unfortunately didn't get past Quirin's attention. 

The man stopped talking, before asking, "Varian? Are you okay, Son?" 

Varian cursed himself for being so weak, especially in front of his dad. 

"U-U-Um....y-yeah." he stammered, quickly wiping at his eyes. "I-I'm okay." he lied. His dad knew this. 

"Varian."

And that's when the dam finally broke. The tears came rushing out like twin waterfalls, and his throat threw out a sound that Varian had no idea he wasn't capable of making. He let the streaming tears of stress, anger, and sadness leave his body, and drip onto the bed like raindrops. His whole body started shaking as he finally released the sob that had been waiting to leave. 

"I-I-I'm s-sorry dad." he said through the tears. 

Quirin's heart shattered. 

"No, no, Son. You shouldn't apologize for your feelings." 

Varian croaked, and kept brushing the tears off his cheeks with his sleeve. "I-I just...I just miss you so much! A-And I know it's ridiculous, because why-why should I want to be with you more than be at my dream job? Why...W-Why..." he couldn't continue, propping the phone against a pillow so he could pull his knees to his chest, and hide his face as he sobbed. 

"Varian, it's not ridiculous of you to be home sick." he heard his father say. But he didn't look up. "Believe me, Son, I know. I've missed you more than you could understand. It's been really quiet without you around." Varian couldn't help but chuckle at the inside joke, and finally decided to look up at the screen again. His eyes were swollen red, and the tears left marks down his pale, freckled face. 

"And I also know how hard it is to do what you love without the ones you love. I know how much you love this job, and how much you also love me. It can be difficult to choose over the two, and most people, when it comes to it, choose the latter of them. But it's still possible to have both. You have your friends, who care about you just as much as I do. You have a job that most kids can only _dream_ of. And as hard as it may be, just know that I'm only a phone call away for whenever you need me, okay?" 

Varian instantly nodded, feeling lifted by his speech. He wiped his face, giving his dad a smile. And this time, it wasn't sad. It was happy and genuine. It was grateful. 

"T-Thank you." 

His father nodded. "And, if it helps, I've cried about you too." 

Varian's eyes widened, before he suddenly chuckled. His father followed, and then in seconds, the tears of sadness turned into tears of laughter, which lasted over a half hour. 

And in the end, Varian finally felt better about his situation. He felt more comfortable with the fact that even though his dad wasn't with him physically, he could still talk and see him. Even if it was by screen, he could still hear his comforting, warm words, and calming voice. It may be hard, and may be extremely difficult. But no matter what, they always had each other through everything. And Varian was thankful for that. 

Varian had been so focused on talking to his dad, that he didn't even notice four people had been sitting outside his door, listening to everything.


	6. Christmas in a plane ticket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel and the rest of the show crew get Varian a Christmas gift to never forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the two day delay, and the fact that it's REALLY short!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Varian sighed, leaning his head against the window of his dressing room (aka, his temporary bedroom at the studio). The snow outside dropped lightly agianst the whte, blanketed earth, covering a few cars parked in the studio parking lot.

 _Just a few more weeks,_ Varian reminded himself, pulling the blanket tighter around his small form. There were only three weeks left until he'd see his father again, since the man had to come up and film the upcoming mid-season episode, and he was getting more and more anxious as the days passed. But as excited as he was, he couldn't help but feel disappointed that it was going to be the beginning of January when that would happen; which meant no celebrating Christmas or New Years together. 

The first of which was in two days, and would be the first Christmas he would be without his dad. Why? Because of the stupid financial issues. It wasn't just the cut-back checks everyone was receiving due to almost getting bankrupt a few months back, but also the fact neither Varian or his father had enough money at the moment to buy a plane. The only reason (at the moment) that Quirin would even be able to come up in a few weeks was because of his larger role in the special episode, and the company needed to use their money to get him here. 

It angered Varian that they wouldn't bring him up a few weeks earlier, and just have him stay until then, but he had no control over it, so he shouldn't complain. 

Then why did he want to?

With a heavy sigh, the teenager turned away from the clear glass, reaching to his bedside table for a picture frame. He held it over his lap, running his thumb along the wooden frame of the printed out photo. It was of him and his dad on their vacation to Hawaii a few years ago, standing atop a mountain overlooking the ocean. It was a simple picture, yet it held a deep meaning for him, especially now. 

It was ironic, to say the least, that the two's relationship was very similar in real life as it appeared in the show. After his mother's passing six years ago from cancer, him and Quirin hadn't been very close. It wasn't particularly secretive, but it was like they were both on two cliff sides hundreds of feet away, only connected by a thin piece of string they each held a side of. But that trip three years ago had done wonders on their relationship, and since then, their rope was starting to grow thicker. 

But now, Varian felt much more out of reach than any cliff side could be. He felt much more distant from his dad than he ever had before. 

It ached. 

He sighed again, placing the picture frame back on the table, before cuddling into his sheets and resting his head on one of his pillows. He allowed himself to grow tired, and a single tear to shed before he fell asleep. 

(----------------------------------------------------------------------)

It had been a few weeks-----since Thanksgiving, specifically-----since the start of Rapunzel's plan. She'd come up with it along with Eugene, Lance, and Cass, and it had taken a lot of hard work for it to finally be set in motion. 

Rapunzel had been the one to send the message and tell the rest of the crew and director, while the other three had searched up flights and trains to see if either would work perfectly. After a few weeks of piling up money between everyone, as well as keeping it a secret from a certain young actor, they'd managed to earn enough money to book two flights a few weeks apart. Now, all they had to do was wait. 

To be honest, it had been very difficult to keep this a secret from Varian; the boy went almost everywhere with her or the others, if not hiding out it his dressing room. But, luckily, it had been hidden well enough for Varian to not notice, and it would pay off in less than a few hours. 

The blonde smiled as she pulled up to the passenger pickup.

(---------------------------------------------------------------------)

It was almost eight o-clock on Christmas Eve, and everyone seemed to be in a happy mood. Well, almost everyone. 

As the rest of the cast and crew celebrated with their families, Varian sat in the corner of the party room, drinking a cup of Fruit Punch to try and wash away his stresses and worries. It didn't work. 

He has been a bit confused when he tried searching for his friends, but they didn't seem to be here. He'd asked around, only to be answered with, "They're around here somewhere", or "Check their rooms." He'd been so confused, he hadn't noticed the anxiousness or excitement in their eyes after asking. And that's how he'd found himself in this chair, getting ready to just give up and spend the rest of the depressing night in his room. 

There was no point in sticking around if he couldn't spend the time with his friends or even father, so he stood up, ready to retire to his bed. 

And that's when he heard the sound of doors opening. He instinctively looked over to see none other than Rapunzel, Eugene, Cass, and Lance walking inside the room. The music playing on the intercom suddenly stopped, and everyone stopped dancing to look over at them, then to Varian, who raised a suspicious brow. 

When the four celebrities caught sight of him, they all smiled brightly, though none of them more than Rapunzel, who gestured for him to go over. Hesitantly, the teen did, until he was a few feet in front of the group. Everyone in the room had their eyes set on them, making Varian feel very uncomfortable, and itch to run to the safety of his room. But he didn't, of course, and politely waited for whatever Rapunzel was planning. 

The blonde actress reached into the pocket of her winter coat, and pulled out a small envelope, peaking his curiosity. Then, to his surprise, she handed it to him. 

"Merry Christmas, Varian." was all she said, the other three repeating the three words. Varian eyes them warily, before carefully opening up the envelope, and pulling out a smaller rectangular piece of paper. 

He looked down at it, blinking a few times when he found it to be a plane ticket, booked from yesterday. 

"W-What is..." 

He stopped short when he looked back up, breath catching tightly in his throat when another figure entered the room. A very, _familiar_ figure that he hadn't seen for months. The paper fell from his hands in his shock, and the others spread apart so he had a path leading to the person. 

"D-Dad?" 

Said man smiled, spreading his arms invitingly. "Merry Christmas, Son." 

Varian nearly screamed as he booked it towards his father, crashing into his arms and pulling him into a tight hug. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't actually _believe_ it! His father was here, right now, on Christmas Eve, holding him. He was really, _really_ here!

Tears poured from his face, and the thought that Christmas might not be so bad after all settled into his mind. 

"Merry Christmas, Dad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick BTW: This will probably be one of the only times I do a storyline in this, unless I come up with something else, or get a request I like. Besides this, the rest of the chapters will just be random BTS moments:)


	7. Team Awesome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Awesome tries to start a band.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that none of the chapters (besides the holiday ones) are in order. If you're confused or have any questions, let me know in the comments!
> 
> Enjoy!

"Why am I doing this, again?"

"Because you can play the electric keyboard, and it's an essential band instrument." 

"Wha- that's not what I meant!"

Eugene snorted in return, going back to setting up his drum kit. 

Varian didn't know how he ended up in the music room of the studio, nor did he know why. But from what he was getting, it appeared that Eugene and Lance were trying to start a band; and personally, he didn't want to be any part of it. But it wasn't like Eugene and Lance were gonna listen to him anyway. Besides, it also wasn't like the band would even work, right? Most bands rarely even got a record deal, let alone write a whole song on their own. 

But...maybe this would be interesting? He just wished they wanted him for more than just his stupid keyboard skills. 

"Alright, what song should we play?" Eugene asked, taking a seat at his drum kit. Lance picked up a guitar, positioning it so he could play. 

The two boys shrugged, making Eugene groan.

"Seriously?! We're forming a band, and we don't even know what to play?!"

Again, the two shrugged. "Well, I don't really care as long as someone comes up with one soon; I just want to go practice my lines for the next episode." Varian remarked, staring awkwardly down at the keys. Eugene gave him an annoyed glare, before pulling out his phone and searching ' _Boy Band Songs.'_

He scrolled through the list, skipping any songs that either annoyed him, or he didn't know. Finally, after a few long minutes or scrolling, he found one he liked. 

"How about this one?" he turned the phone towards his band mates to see. Lance snorted, and Varian cocked a brow. "Um, don't you think it's a little...uh, inappropriate? You know, for someone like me to sing?" 

Eugene scoffed, going back to scrolling through his phone. "Well, fine! At least I'm trying to find something, not just sitting around doing nothing!" 

Varian rolled his eyes, pulling out his own phone---but instead of trying to help, he instead started playing Among Us. 

Eventually, Eugene managed to find a song that _wasn't_ inappropriate or annoying, and showed it to Varian and Lance. Varian shrugged. "I mean, I guess that one's okay. I'd need to find some sheet music on my phone though, and I don't know if it's available for my instrument." 

Eugene sighed. "It better be. Team Awesome doesn't have much time to-" 

Varian cut him off. "Hold on...Team Awesome? _That's_ what you're naming the band?" 

Eugene nodded, looking confused. "What, would 'The Hairstripe' be a better one?"

Varian looked completely offended. "Excuse me? Okay, for ONE, that stripe is just temporary dye, and TWO, you're literally stealing the name Team Awesome from the show!" 

Eugene rolled his eyes. "It's not STEALING, if the name in the show is for me and you, is it?" 

Varian facepalmed. "But they still OWN the name, Eugene! How thick could you-" 

Lance cut them off, stepping between them. "Okay, okay! You guys need to calm down! Maybe it would be best to just ask the director or producer if we could use it? It's not like we're stealing "Tangled: The Series" or "Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure", right?" 

Eugene looked thoughtful, before shrugging. "True, I guess. Let's just talk about this later. Varian, have you found-"

"Yep!"

"Okay, great! Lance?"

"Yeah, I got it!" 

Eugene sighed, pulling the lyrics and notes up on his phone, and pacing it on the stand next to him. He quickly double checked to see if they were recording, before hitting his sticks together to set the tempo.

"One, two, three..."

_"Straight off the plane to a new hotel..._ WAIT! _"_

Everyone stopped, Varian resisting the urge to facepalm again. He looked back at Eugene, who looked just as annoyed as he felt---though for a different reason. "Guys! I sing the first verse!" 

Lance narrowed his eyes. "Uh, no, I do! The guitarist ALWAYS starts! They're basically the lead singer, after all."

Varian scoffed. "That's as cliche as 'don't judge a book by its cover'! Shouldn't that mean _I_ should be the first to sing?" 

"HA! Yeah, no. I started this band, I start the song! You guys can fight over the next one." 

Lance and Eugene crossed their arms. "But that's not fair!" Eugene laughed. "It's as fair as...uh...well, insert simile here! Either way, I should be the one to start the song. End of story." 

Even though Lance and Varian were still annoyed over this, they didn't argue anymore, and just got back to their instruments. Eugene secretly pumped his fist in the air once their backs were turned to him, and grabbed his drum sticks. 

"Okay, now one, two, three..."

_"Straight off the plane to a new hotel...."_

It had been a disaster. Why? Maybe it was because mid way through, Eugene dropped one of his drumsticks, and hit his head on his drum trying to reach for it. Maybe it was because one of the strings on Lance's guitar broke, causing him to almost drop the instrument in surprise. Or, maybe it was when Varian felt Eugene's drumstick touch his foot, and thinking it was a snake or something, screamed (very manly, in his opinion) and knocked his electric keyboard over with a loud crash. 

Either way, it had ended badly; they could all agree on that much. 

Varian sighed, picking up his instrument, and wincing at the keys that had fallen out of place. Lance pouted at his instrument, and set it aside to help the teen pick up the mess. Varian then handed Eugene his drumstick, which the man thanked him for, before putting it away and wincing at the soreness in his head. He hissed slightly at the sight of a small lump in the drum. Even though he had technically _claimed_ it was his, it really wasn't. And he wasn't sure how much he'd have to pay the studio for ruining it. 

After putting the stuff away, all three of them stood in an awkwardly quiet circle. They purposely kept their gazes away from each other as Eugene hit play on the recording, waiting for the part where everything fell apart. 

They'd actually been pretty good, surprisingly. It probably helped that the show had casted some vocally talented people, as well as Lance being on Broadway for a brief period of time. Varian would never admit it, but he actually kinda wanted to try out for broadway some time in the future. Not exactly in the _near_ future, per se, but at some point in his life. 

It had been pretty good until they reached the bridge of the song, which is where everything fell apart. They all winced at the sound of Eugene's head hitting the drum, and Varian's high pitched (again, in his opinion, very manly) scream, followed by Lance's surprised yelp. After that, the recording was stopped, the last sound being the crash of Varian's electric keyboard. After that, everyone was quiet. 

Until Eugene spoke again. 

"Well...that was, uh...something, huh?" 

When nobody answered, he sighed in annoyance. 

"You know what? I'm just gonna go scream into my pillow now." 

And with that, the annoyed actor-NOT turned singer stomped out of the room, slamming the door hard behind him. 

It was quiet for a brief moment, the sound of footsteps slowly fading away down the hall, before Varian and Lance both suddenly broke into laughter. 

"HAHA! Oh, wow, can you believe it worked?!" Varian wheezed, doubling over in slight pain as his ribs began to ache. Lance slapped his knee, wheezing along with him. "I know, right! Who knew hair gel could be so slippery?" 

The two laughed hard and long, the bottle of hair gel tucked away discreetly in Varian's jacket pocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be a Varian Sick!fic!
> 
> Also, yes, I chose a (underrated, in my opinion) One Direction song for them to try and sing.
> 
> And no, I don't regret it.


	8. Sick And Tired Of Being Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian gets really sick, and his friends (mostly Eugene, actually) take care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this came out so late! Buuuut, it's a lot longer than my other chapters, AND it has some Team Awesomeness in it!
> 
> Enjoy!

It started off as a normal, small cough. Just one when Varian woke up. 

But then, as the day started to pass, more came. One after another, his coughs started growing more frequent. So frequent, that people around the set started giving him weird looks that he elected to ignore. After a while, the coughs were joined by even more frequent sneezes. These were the most concerning to the cast and crew, and when asked Varian shrugged it off as just being a little off that day. Nobody believed him.

Then, of course, it got worse.

His head started to ache; and no matter how much water he drank, it wouldn't go away. His body grew weaker and weaker, and he found that as hours and hours passed his legs were practically begging for rest. But he couldn't let everyone down simply because his body was a bit broken. So he forced his way through more of the day.

But doing that caused everything to get even worse to the point he couldn't refuse help any longer. And right in the middle of filming a scene, he downright collapsed and blacked out. He would've blamed it on how hot it was, if it wasn't for the fact that the AC was literally blasting cold air throughout the studio. So, when he woke up in his bed to his group of concerned friends---Rapunzel, Cassie and Eugene (Lance was out visiting his family)---he didn't exactly have a great excuse.

"Look, guys! I'm fine, just let me-" he tried getting out of bed, but before he could finish his sentence he suddenly started coughing. And it wouldn't stop. He just coughed and coughed, and the others couldn't do anything but pat his back and hold him up as he did. 

He was really regretting passing the sickness off, now.

Finally, after the coughing fit slowed down again, and Varian found his throat was to sore to even speak again, he relented and lied back down with a pout. Rapunzel gave his shoulder a squeeze. 

"You're obviously not. It's okay! Everybody gets sick sometimes; just take the rest of the day off to get better. Besides, you already filmed basically your only scene in the episode." she smiled, though Varian could sense her buried anxiousness. He sighed, choking back a wince at the way it scratched his throat, then nodded in defeat, to which she smiled wider at. 

Then Cassie stepped in. "You shouldn't have let it get this bad, Kid. You're lucky you at least had the sense to drink water."

Varian couldn't help but flinch, hating the feeling of guilt in his stomach. Eugene hit Cass's shoulder and narrowed his eyes disapprovingly. "Cass, come on, give him a break." 

She scoffed, but didn't reply.

After a few minutes of a not-so-comfortable silence, the door to his room opened, and the studio nurse popped in with a bag. She ushered everyone behind her and sat on his side stool, pulling out a pill bottle from her bag and setting it on his nightstand, before setting the bag down. "Take two of these." she ordered, handing him the bottle. With a bit of difficulty, Varian got the lid off and popped two small blue pills in his mouth, and took the glass of water from his nightstand and swallowed them down. 

Because of this, another fit of coughs erupted from his throat, and he had to sit up carefully with the nurse's help. These coughs, mixed with a few sneezes, caused his throat and head to ache more---and it took every bit of what little energy he had to force back pathetic tears. He couldn't cry in front of his friends, he was already vulnerable enough in this state.

Speaking of, the three were looking worriedly over at him, which added a lot to his mountain of guilt. But they knew him, he was the type of kid who forced himself through anything. He was the kind of kid who worked over the top for things, and studied more and longer than needed for school. He was, in a way, his character in the show.

But that of course didn't mean it was healthy in many aspects. Really, it wasn't very healthy at all. And he knew that just as much as his friends did. But, again, he couldn't help it. It was who he was. It just sucked that getting sick is where that got him.

"Alright..." he came out of his train of thought when the nurse started talking again. "Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?" she asked politely. Varian thought a moment, before nodding, to which she smiled kindly.

"Okay. How are you feeling?"

Um...wasn't that kinda obvious?

Finding it too hard to speak properly thanks to his throat, his put a thumbs down. She chuckled and nodded.

"Does your throat hurt?"

He nodded.

"Is that why you aren't talking."

Again, a nod.

"Okay...how's your stomach feeling?"

Thumbs up.

"How's your head?"

Thumbs down.

"How long have you been showing these kinds of symptoms?" 

Varian forced back another lump of guilt, and pointed back to his friends, who all looked uncomfortable. "Um...well, all day. But he insisted he was fine up until he passed out on us." Rapunzel explained. The nurse nodded and thanked her, before turning back to the sick teen.

"Have you had your flu shot yet? Don't worry, this is the last question." 

Varian shook his head. No, he hadn't had his flu shot. Honestly, the last time he actually had a flu shot was when he was eleven. He just wasn't very prone to getting sick---until now, anyway.

She nodded, then stood up with her bag and walking towards the door. "I suggest a lot of rest. In a few hours someone will be over to administer a flu vaccine. But, in the meantime, stay in bed, drink water regularly, eat regularly, and sleep as much as you can. If the pain gets worse, take some meds or have someone come tell me." she stopped in the doorway, looking towards the small group. "Have at least one person in here at all times to watch his condition. And to just watch...him. He seems like a very stubborn boy." she chuckled, before leaving, closing the door behind her.

Variain sighed, and rolled onto his back. This was gonna be fun.

(------------------------------------------)

It had been three hours since the nurse had left, and Varian felt no better than before. It was nearing five o'clock, which was about an hour before filming schedule usually ended and everyone went home (or in his and some others' case, went to their dressing/hotel rooms). Rapunzel and Cassandra were out filming a scene, while Eugene was chosen to stay and watch Varian until one of them was done. So far, it had been...well, not very fun or productive. 

Eugene, bless his heart, had taken it upon himself to try and distract him from his crappy state by telling random stories and anecdotes. And while that had been entertaining for a few minutes, it had become so unbelievably boring that Varian had actually fallen asleep for an hour. After he woke up, he found his babysitter asleep in his chair, and had to just entertain himself with playing games on his phone. 

Unfortunately, phone life could only be so long, and it ended up dying on him mid-way through the second hour. And the charger was at the other side of the room, so he couldn't do anything about it without waking Eugene up. But he didn't want to do that, so he set it aside and pulled out a book from one of the table drawers. 

It was entertaining for a little while, but being the nerd he was, he got through the 309 pages of magic and sorcery pretty quickly. And at that point, his sickness was overcoming a lot of his senses, and made it difficult to concentrate on anything without coughing, sneezing, or wincing in pain. So he found himself alone, tired, crappy, and upset. 

Oh, how he wanted to cry his eyes out. But even if he could muster up the strength to shed a tear, he wouldn't do it in front of anyone. He didn't like pity or sympathy; it was always...well, just really awkward in his point of view. Maybe it was just his teenage hormones, but he just didn't do dealing with emotional feelings with other people. By himself or with his dad, sure. But with others...no. No matter how nice and caring his friends were, it just wasn't his thing. 

So he'd just have to get through the pain by mentally crying and screaming on the inside. Alone, and bored out of his damn mind.

As if on cue, he suddenly heard a groan coming from beside him. Looking over, he saw Eugene start to shift in his seat, and yawn as consciousness started to slip in. Welp, erase the _'alone'_ bit. 

As Eugene stretched his arms and sat up, Varian shifted his body onto his side, which made his head groan in pain. But he ignored it, watching as the man's eyes flickered open and landed on his tired ones, and a smile formed on his lips.

"Hey, kiddo, how ya doin'?" he asked, moving so his elbows were on his knees and his hands attached in a calm fist.

Varian shrugged. "I can kinda talk, again." he said hoarsely, groaning at the dry ache it caused his throat. 

Eugene grinned lightly at that, before eyeing the small mess on his bed and chuckling. "Been busy, huh?" 

Varian rolled his eyes, the smallest of a smile growing on his lips. "You could say that." he replied. He hissed slightly when it caused his throat to sting again, and that's when he started craving something to dampen the dryness. He reached for the glass on his table weakly, unable to fully reach, however. Eugene got the message, and handed it to him. He could've sworn he was drinking literal heaven as the water raced down his throat, cooling it down perfectly before the soft throbbing settled back in. He placed the cup back on the table.

"Thanks..." he murmured. Eugene nodded. 

"So, what do you want to do?" 

Varian arched an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Eugene chuckled. "What do you want to do? I think talking would really be one sided. And your phone looks dead so we probably can't play an online game together. Any ideas?" 

Varian thought a moment, before pointing at his speaker, which sat across the room at his vanity. Eugene followed Varian's earlier eyebrow action. "You want to listen to music?" he turned to Varian, seeming confused. The actor nodded, passing him his phone and saying, "Charge while music plays with your phone. It's Bluetooth." he explained, unable to say much in his rough voice. 

Eugene shrugged and nodded, going over to the vanity. He plugged the phone into the cable underneath, and pressed the on button on the speaker panel. It lit up with a small jingle, and Eugene went to settings and connected it with his phone. Once he did, he sat by Varian again and started scrolling though his music.

"What do you want to listen to?" 

Varian shrugged, making Eugene roll his eyes. "You gotta tell me what you like. I don't want to play any music you don't like or aren't allowed to listen to." this made Varian's eyes widen, and Eugene stuttered. "I-I mean, um...not that, uh...not that I listen to BAD music or anything inappropriate or anything. Um..." he stopped at the sound of a giggle, and looked down to see Varian chuckling and waving a hand.

"I'm joking." he assured; though he most certainly WAS NOT joking. He truly was just laughing at Eugene's answer. Eugene sighed, and chuckled himself. 

Then, after a few annoying coughs and sneezes caused by the giggling, Varian spoke up again. "Broadway." 

Eugene looked at him with a puzzled look. "Huh?" 

"Broadway music, please." Varian specified, a small blush painting his freckled face. Eugene took a minute, before his eyes widened in realization. 

"Oh, you like broadway, huh?"

Varian blushed harder, nodding. Eugene chuckled, but didn't say anything more as he typed into his phone. 

"Honestly, you didn't exactly take me as the type." he said after searching, scrolling through the list of options. "Not that I blame you; I mean, Hamilton's pretty coo-" he stopped mid-sentence, looking back down to Varian, who's eyes were wide.

"You like broadway?" he asked in bewilderment. Eugene shrugged, swallowing down the slight embarrassment. "Well, I mean...I've only actually seen a few plays. I'm not exactly that much of a geek as others, but...eh." Varian nodded, still looking surprised. 

After a few moments of awkward silence, Eugene cleared his throat, which didn't make things any less so. "Okay...so, what do you want? We got Death Note, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hanson, Wicked, Chicago..."

As the older actor listed off the music, Varian listened intently for a certain one. He couldn't help but chuckle as Eugene sometimes looked disgusted, rolled his eyes, or even fake threw up---though that wasn't as funny, considering the situation they were in. Eventually, he finally got to the one Varian wanted.

"Newsies, Bonnie and-"

"That one."

Eugene stopped. 

"Bonnie and Clyde?"

"No! Newsies." 

"Really? That boring piece of-"

He stopped at Varian's if-you-even-dare-to-finish-that-sentence-I-will-kill-you-burn-you-and-rip-you-to-shreds glare, sputtering instead and trying and failing miserably to correct himself. "Amaaazingness...."

All Varian could say, was that Eugene was very, very, very, VERY lucky he was to weak to move or stand right now. But that obviously didn't mean he wouldn't kill him in his sleep when he was better, though. 

Eugene groaned and clicked on the playlist. The speaker beeped, before music started playing. Varian smiled in satisfaction, snuggling further down into his bed and listening, ignoring Eugene's muttering. 

_Folks, we've finally got a headline..._

The playlist finished after close to an hour, and Eugene seemed relieved. Varian ignored it, and they soon played Bonnie and Clyde. Then Death Note. Then Hamilton. 

And after a few hours (nearing nine o'clock), they decided to turn the music off and just talk, since Varian was finally able to speak a bit clearer. Right now, they were ~~arguing~~ debating over the best soundtrack out of the ones they listened to. So far, it was between each other their favorites: Newsies and Hamilton. 

"Come on! How can you hate it? It isn't at all boring!" Varian argued, making Eugene roll his eyes. 

"I'm just saying it could be better. But I do admit it is better than the movie." 

"You can't seriously think a bunch of people talking fast is better than-"

He was interrupted by a knock at the door. They both stopped, turning to face it. "Come in." Varian called, though regretted it when a fit of coughs and sneezes erupted from his throat again. Eugene winced and helped him sit up as the door opened to reveal three women: Rapunzel, Cassandra, and a woman neither of the boy's had ever seen; though judging by the long, white lab-type coat, she was the doctor assigned to give Varian his flu shot. 

Rapunzel smiled at them both, taking a seat at Varian's vanity next to Cass.

"You doing okay?" she asked. The teen nodded with a matching grin. "A lot better, actually."

The doctor replaced Eugene on the stool, pulling out some medical supplied; one of them being, to Varian's distaste, a needle. After doing a few things, and giving him a quick check up on his symptoms, she got to the point. Varian closed his eyes tight and clutched his blanket as he felt a sharp poke into his shoulder, and then a very small sting. Then it was done. It went by in a breeze.

He relaxed when she put the band-aid on and put her stuff away---all except for a single pill bottle. Once her stuff was away, she explained what the pills were for. "These are so you don't black out again. Take them every day for the rest of the week, and take actual care of yourself. You should feel better in the morning, though I'd suggest taking the day off to settle down from this." 

He nodded, watching her leave, before laying back into his pillows with a sigh. 

But it wasn't a distressed one, or even an annoyed or tired one. Honestly, it wasn't exactly filled with any certain emotion or feeling. 

It was just...calm. 

And he was happy for it.

The rest of the night and the day after was filled with a lot of games, talking, and even more debates over what the best broadway play was. Varian wouldn't lie, was surprised to find Cassandra preferred neither Hamilton or Newsies---but Rent, which he had only seen once when he was younger.

But it didn't matter at that point. What mattered was that after that, he'd felt a lot better and learned a very important lesson.

Don't be stupid and take care of yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I make a reference to Jeremy Jordan's musicals? 
> 
> Yes. 
> 
> Yes, I did.


End file.
